There's probably less high end allowed in those synths than you realize. Add to the fact that he doesn't overdo it with volume levels. You can get a lot more high end or allow a lot more highend in a sound when it isn't the loudest part of the mix. I think of highend as 8-10k plus though so I might be perceiving things differently but most of the highs in this song sound like hi hats to me.

My first thought is a different drum would probably make the difference.  Any suggestions on a different kind of drum?

Digging into your eq's to create some space might work. If it really sounds terrible you might have to go back to your sound design. You could try side chaining your tracks that you want on the edges of your stereo field with your track you want in the middle to let that come through first and then adding some ambience to the outer edges.

Quote from: Alenn on August 24, 2016, 11:32:28 pm

I had a pair of cheap speakers (40-50 dollars, i don´t remember) and one headphones with much better quality ,the Sony NWZ-WH303 (I´m not saying that they´re awesome and the best but are better than the speakers)

Should I start to produce more with the headphones ? How good are they?

Ahhh man, this is one of those questions everyone starting out has. I went through it myself and did a lot of research so I'll attempt to shed some light

So, to make sure I understand your question, you're asking if you should produce on your headphones as opposed to speakers since your headphones are higher quality, and if so, what might you be missing out on by not using monitor speakers?

So, the headphones you have are indeed pretty decent, though they are NOT what one would call studio headphones. They seem like they're made for recreational use. The difference is that studio headphones have a "flat" frequency response and are very honest, whereas recreational headphones boost the bass and treble like crazy to make it seem like everything sounds better on them However, this is more of an issue for MIXING, not necessarily when you're first starting to produce and just playing around with sounds and building your track. Mixing and producing DO go hand in hand however, so you might want to look into a pair of studio headphones.

There are 2 main types of studio headphones - closed back and open back. Closed back are like what you have, and open back are, ...um... open on the outside haha. If you are in a quiet home studio open headphones will sound better, but if you're in noisy environments or produce on the train or on the bus or in coffee shops go wth closed back headphones.

The most popular closed back cans people recommend are Audio Technica ATHm50x. They're around $160, but you can def get cheaper headphones, I'll put a list of resources for you to research (based on your budget of course) at the bottom.

Ok, so your cheap speakers are not going to do you many favors when producing or mixing or anything. You should keep them though, because they say to get the best mix possible you should be auditioning your tracks all over the place - cheap speakers, cheap earbuds, car stereo, etc etc. Basically get as many different "looks" at your track as you can on different systems.

For proper studio monitor speakers, it's kind of like studio headphones. There are a ton to choose from. As people in this thread have mentioned, with monitor speakers you'll feel and hear the low-end of your music more. If you forced me to choose yes or no, then YES, it IS better to produce and mix on monitor speakers as opposed to headphones. But again, there are many degrees of truth here. Many famous producers have had great results using really crappy gear, and not even having monitor speakers for instance.

So, to recap & conclude - you can absolutely produce w the headphones you have, because why not, people have had to make do w worse Is it ideal? No. For a more ideal setup, find yourself some studio headphones (open or closed back depending on ur situation). Your existing cheap speakers should be used to occasionally listen to your mix for reference, but probably won't make the best monitors. If you can afford it, you should buy some monitors.

Educate yourself on this stuff and you should get an idea for what to buy. Here is some recommended reading, I found these guides to be some of the most well informed (and they're beginner friendly):

• Info & rec's on headphones: The Best Studio Headphones (via Equipboard)
• Info & rec's on studio speakers: The Best Studio Monitors (also via Equipboard)

this is something i've been wondering for a while. how do y'all enjoy music? in the car, while walking, on your bed? do you do other stuff while listening?

i noticed that when i listen to music it's usually while i'm doing coursework, so i end up not giving it much attention and thereby not enjoying it as much as when actively listening. im curious if anyone has noticed similar things.